Toward a clearer conceptualization and operationalization of solutions journalism

<jats:p> Solutions journalism is rigorous news reporting about how people are responding to social problems – a definition used by scholars but formulated by the Solutions Journalism Network, an independent organization that promotes the practice. The approach has a growing appeal in the professional world, but what little exists in academic research fails to offer thorough theoretical and conceptual definitions or a concrete operationalization of the practice. Through in-depth interviews, journalists familiar with solutions journalism offered insights about how to define and measure the practice. Specifically, journalists said solution-oriented news stories contribute to more accurate and balanced news coverage, they are sophisticated and rigorous, and they intend to motivate readers to contribute to societal change. Further findings help distinguish the Solutions Journalism Network’s conceptualization of the concept from how working journalists practice it, particularly in regard to the extent that solutions journalism overlaps with advocacy journalism. Finally, this study offers guidelines for measuring a solutions news story in an effort to spur consistent future research on the effects of the solutions journalism approach. </jats:p>